What do you think of ...

[artikk]

US's level of public school education? In my opinion, it needs some improvement.

After leaving a former Warsaw Pact nation with a 5 grade education and coming to the US, I knew all the material/curriculum the teachers in in the US public schools taught me through the 8th grade of middle school. Thus I was constantly bored to death(even now)due to the lack of challenging material. Personally, I think kids in the US aren't challenged enough academically.
Text
Discuss(No flaming please).

-russianpower

 

[tm37]

Read the sig you decide.

 

[amol]

Entire public school system needs a revamping ...

Though I can't say much since my HS isn't like most other public schools

 

[sixone]

You are absolutely right. And we can argue all day about why.

 

[ts3433]

Originally posted by: Amol
Entire public school system needs a revamping ...

Though I can't say much since my HS isn't like most other public schools

Mine either. It's at a branch of the state university system.

Almost certainly needs some improvement, but methinks the problem's going to ultimately lie in the current culture--we're all too damn lazy. There's not much the public education system seems able to do to change that.

 

[destined]

nobody wants to pay for quality teachers in nyc. instead, lets build football, baseball stadiums in every borough. that'll surely fix everything.

 

[Icepick]

I agree with russianpower and each post in this thread so far. The public education system here in the U.S. sucks. I can say that because I'm a product of it 😀. I doubt I'll be able to afford $8,000/year to send my kids to private school so I'm doing what I can to get them exposed to as much info as possible before they even begin public school.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

Originally posted by: destined
nobody wants to pay for quality teachers in nyc. instead, lets build football, baseball stadiums in every borough. that'll surely fix everything.

University of Connecticut? yes. (i go there)

however, more reform is needed @ highschool and lower levels.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: russianpower
US's level of public school education? In my opinion, it needs some improvement.

After leaving a former Warsaw Pact nation with a 5 grade education and coming to the US, I knew all the material/curriculum the teachers in in the US public schools taught me through the 8th grade of middle school. Thus I was constantly bored to death(even now)due to the lack of challenging material. Personally, I think kids in the US aren't challenged enough academically.
Text
Discuss.

-russianpower

It really depends on where you live. I went to public school from 4th grade through high school and was constantly challenged. Our school system had a special accelerated program for bright students who could handle demanding curricula and high work loads. By the end of high school I had taken 8 AP classes and was accepted at every university I applied to.

Of course, I grew up in an upper-middle class suburban neighborhood where family life was stable and the school had plenty of resources. My fiancee now teaches 9th grade math at a public high school in the Bronx. She has 2 students who live in homeless shelters, almost all come from broken homes with very little income, and the school itself is overcrowded and struggling to meet even the most basic needs of its teachers and students. It's unfair to lump a situation like that in with the quality public education system where I grew up.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: destined
nobody wants to pay for quality teachers in nyc. instead, lets build football, baseball stadiums in every borough. that'll surely fix everything.

NYC pays teachers quite well compared to the national average, and spends more per student than almost any other school district in the country.

That said, it needs quite a bit of work. 😉

 

[Icepick]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: russianpower
US's level of public school education? In my opinion, it needs some improvement.

After leaving a former Warsaw Pact nation with a 5 grade education and coming to the US, I knew all the material/curriculum the teachers in in the US public schools taught me through the 8th grade of middle school. Thus I was constantly bored to death(even now)due to the lack of challenging material. Personally, I think kids in the US aren't challenged enough academically.
Text
Discuss.

-russianpower

It really depends on where you live. I went to public school from 4th grade through high school and was constantly challenged. Our school system had a special accelerated program for bright students who could handle demanding curricula and high work loads. By the end of high school I had taken 8 AP classes and was accepted at every university I applied to.

Of course, I grew up in an upper-middle class suburban neighborhood where family life was stable and the school had plenty of resources. My fiancee now teaches 9th grade math at a public high school in the Bronx. She has 2 students who live in homeless shelters, almost all come from broken homes with very little income, and the school itself is overcrowded and struggling to meet even the most basic needs of its teachers and students. It's unfair to lump a situation like that in with the quality public education system where I grew up.

You make a very good point. Public school quality really varies from one area to the next. Within a 10 mile radius of where I live there is one of the top 10 schools in the nation along with some very poor quality schools. The top 10 I mentioned is the wealthiest town in this area. All the cities and towns populated with working class families tend to have lower performing public schools.

 

[AreaCode707]

I think that our students are underexerted, to say the least. I homeschooled, and pretty much coasted through most of what I did. Graduated college at 19. I wish I'd done more, in retrospect, like languages, but I can't even imagine having the (lack of) education through the public school system.

 

[destined]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: russianpower
US's level of public school education? In my opinion, it needs some improvement.

After leaving a former Warsaw Pact nation with a 5 grade education and coming to the US, I knew all the material/curriculum the teachers in in the US public schools taught me through the 8th grade of middle school. Thus I was constantly bored to death(even now)due to the lack of challenging material. Personally, I think kids in the US aren't challenged enough academically.
Text
Discuss.

-russianpower

It really depends on where you live. I went to public school from 4th grade through high school and was constantly challenged. Our school system had a special accelerated program for bright students who could handle demanding curricula and high work loads. By the end of high school I had taken 8 AP classes and was accepted at every university I applied to.

Of course, I grew up in an upper-middle class suburban neighborhood where family life was stable and the school had plenty of resources. My fiancee now teaches 9th grade math at a public high school in the Bronx. She has 2 students who live in homeless shelters, almost all come from broken homes with very little income, and the school itself is overcrowded and struggling to meet even the most basic needs of its teachers and students. It's unfair to lump a situation like that in with the quality public education system where I grew up.

but is it fair that only the "bright" students are challenged? shouldn't all the students be challenged? o if for some reason a kid has test anxiety, he will be stuck with poor education for the rest of his days. i'm not sure that sounds fair.

 

[aplefka]

I think people bitch way too much about things. I go to an underfunded public high school and I think that the variety of classes offered is pretty damn good. I also don't spell like sh1t and I am really good in general at math, english, and science. You only get what you put into it, and I guess a lot of people aren't responsible enough to realize that.

 

[destined]

Originally posted by: aplefka
I think people bitch way too much about things. I go to an underfunded public high school and I think that the variety of classes offered is pretty damn good. I also don't spell like sh1t and I am really good in general at math, english, and science. You only get what you put into it, and I guess a lot of people aren't responsible enough to realize that.

first of all, i dont' think anyone here is bitching. we are supposed to be having a discussion about public education. maybe you dont' understand that. i am glad that you are doing well in school in spite of the fact that you attend an underfunded high school. but that doesn't change the fact that many of your classmates aren't doing as well. that can be due to many things. such as funding for quality teachers. i believe if teachers were paid fair wages, and were given decent sized classes. that they could then prepare and help students that are struggling with the curriculum. instead of just teaching the kids exactly what they need and nothing more to pass the stardardized tests to get to the next grade so they can pass along the problem to someone else.

 

[cirthix]

funds and their resulting computers are bs. schools dont need money to educate better. you need paper for an english class, some chalk, rulers, compasses, and more paper for math, a few charts, more paper, and chalk once again for sciences, maybe some dead frogs or bowling balls. all this "we need money" and "we need more computers" bs at my school is driving me nuts. these are not needed for and distract from education. the students at my school (and i assume for many others too) need discipline and respect. not this beaurocrasy crap of paperwork all the time, students need to stop messign around with crap and pay attention to the teachers (who should get paid more for waht they do).

edit: that being said, this should probably go in p&n